the play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king
Artists have always had a particularly useful place in society; as my SCA bard friends could tell you, it’s the jesters and fools who are often given leave to tell the truth when others can’t. The Hamilton cast proved that this weekend, Saturday Night Live has been doing it for pretty much my entire lifetime (even that awful 1980 season), and folks like George Carlin and Lewis Black (to name a couple of my favorites, but not to suggest they’re the only ones) have been calling out people in power for as long as there’s been a stage or an empty street corner to call from.
Sure, you occasionally get some blowback, as with the Dixie Chicks “Shut Up and Sing” business back in 2003, but the intervening decade has shown that said a hell of a lot more about country music and it’s culture and gatekeepers than anything else. Artists have their own special kind of influence, and this influence rightfully scares those looking to abuse power, because it’s coming from a corner they can’t even attempt to control without looking weak and thin-skinned.
This morning, a friend of mine posted the relatively famous photo of Woody Guthrie you see above, which simply and effectively shows the power artists have when we strap on an instrument and get out there and do our thing. I understand that when I personally get up on stage these days, it’s mostly in service of naughty jokes about beloved fantasy properties, but it’s important for us to never forget that as artists, we’ve got access to a long history of being able to speak truth to power where others couldn’t, and every note we play or sing has the potential to bring down empires.
That’s a sobering thought, and I take the responsibility seriously.
